With Spring Practice about to get underway, Oregon head coach Chip Kelly will start auditioning quarterbacks Nate Costa and Darron Thomas for a quarterbacking job that is now glaringly open. But with practice set to begin tomorrow, the news that suspended quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is going to remain in school at Oregon adds an interesting twist to proceedings.
Rob Moseley of the Register-Guard reports that Masoli will stay in school after meeting with Chip Kelly today, though his role on the football team is unresolved. It makes little sense for Masoli to get much, if any, playing time this spring, as the emphasis will be on getting either Costa or Thomas ready to replace Masoli, who still has a year of eligibility remaining.
While it isn’t new information to Kelly, the timing of the Eugene police department’s official report on the frat house burglary that Masoli and wide receiver Garrett Embry pleaded guilty to shows just how deceitful Masoli was with his head coach. On the evening of the theft, Kelly spoke to his star quarterback twice, who assured him that he had never stepped foot in the frat house.
While the decision to suspend the West Coast’s best quarterback had to be difficult, it would’ve been impossible for Kelly to keep Masoli on the team after his breach in trust.
